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It is great to have the opportunity to paddle Hurley weir in any situation, let alone when it is the weekend of the 25th Hurley Classic and the British Championships. Combine this with the fact that over 200 paddlers from across the world including many of the big names of freestyle are competing and it certainly makes for an awesome weekend on the water. A 5 o’clock start on Saturday morning meant that we were at Hurley and ready for the 8 o’clock ‘Younguns Paddle with the Stars’ briefing where we were all split into groups and assigned to two...

So it was that time of year again to make the long journey from Cornwall to Scotland for some creek boating. This was going to be the first real test of my new Sandiline drysuit. I have been using my previous Sandiline drysuit for the last 4 years and it was finally time for a new one. There have been some nice new touches to this year’s drysuit. First of all is the colours, I have gone for the black, white and red which I think looks smart but still stands out with the non-matching sleeves patterns. They have also upgraded...

Just over 3 weeks ago I packed up once more and jumped back on a plane once more. After a fun few weeks, coaching for Leeds Beckett University, seeing all my family and friends and studying and qualifying in sports massage, it was time to head away from the UK’s winter climate and back down under to the sunshine once more… Read More By Claire O’Hara

Over the weekend I competed in the last slalom race of the season in Lee Valley. The Saturday’s race was the final prem race of the year and the last chance for me to move up the rankings for next year. The course set was fairly open in most places and only one or two tight bits. I put down a fairly solid first run with only one touch putting me 15th in prem. The second run I had the option to put down the quickest run I could taking the risks in places, again I put down a solid...

Last week was the annual Flowerpots Rodeo in Exeter. For the guys that don’t know about Pots Rodeo it’s a laid back freestyle event taking place on Flowerpots weir hosted by Exeter University Canoe Club with all the profits going to charity. Ewart from AS Watersports kindly invited me along to run some freestyle workshops. The day started off with a boater cross challenge which the competitors started upstream of the weir and ended at the bottom of flowerpots with various challenges along the way. Unfortunately due to lack of rain the weir was too shallow for playboating so I worked on some flatwater...